Persona Goal:Conquest
by CurioOfTheHeart
Summary: Yamada Taro is a normal Japanese school boy who has to move to a new city. On the way, he accidentally awakens to the power of his Persona. Now he must create bonds and allies to help figure out the mystery of a forest that doesn't always exist. But the forest has different plans as it tries to survive. OCs only. Rated for violence, language and mild suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the Persona series nor do I own the Megami Tensei super-series that it is a part of. I do own the ideas, plot, and characters of this fanfic. Any products, services, logos, works, or companies referenced are the property of their respective owners. Also, a small thing for reviewers. The style will be a bit simple and undetailed to start with. This is a stylistic choice and will change and develop as the story progresses.

Chapter: Journey

Hello, I am Yamada Taro. I am a 17-year old Japanese high school student, although I am currently on break. My father has recently been diagnosed with some lung issues, so my family had to move out of the big city we've lived in my entire life. We're currently on a train to the town of Osaka where we will stay with my uncle for a day before going on to the small town of Okako. I've been suffering insomnia the last couple days, but the movement of the train and clear night sky lull me into sleep.

When I opened my eyes, the filled train car was empty. The dull red seats and grey interior had been replaced with blue. Looking out of the window, instead of the rural areas I should have seen, it was space. Just blackness and millions of small points of light. Looking around, I noticed that I had moved from the left side of the car to the center and all the other seats had disappeared. Somehow it had changed while I was looking around. Probably just a dream, nothing too strange.

A small, clothed table came into view in front of me. A hunched man with sparse white hair and an extremely large, almost comedic nose appeared as well. Then a rough-looking tall man, almost seven feet tall I would guess, with spiked blond hair appeared. The long-nosed man wore a black suit, while the tall man wore a blue suit that looked too formal for him, kind of like an elevator attendant or limo driver.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man," the long-nosed man greeted. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be very bloodshot. I muttered something back, but even I am not sure what it was. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This man is Victor, a resident here like myself."

"'Sup," the rough-looking man greeted in a surprisingly deep but clear voice. The long-nosed man, Igor, gave him a small look of annoyance.

"This place," Igor resumed, "exists between dream and reality, mind and matter...It is a place where only those bound by a contract may enter. Perhaps your destiny will lead you that way soon. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I-I am Yamada Taro, sir," I stutter out. I am not sure why I called him sir, he just has a certain air about him. The rough-looking man, Victor, smirks and chuckles a little to himself.

"Interesting, greetings Yamada Taro. Now then, do you believe in tarot." He ran his hand over the table and an array of blue cards appeared on it.

"Yes," I muttered weakly. I've never thought about fortune-telling before, really, but this was just too surreal to deny anything for sure.

"Good," he replied with a chuckle. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different." He chuckled again. "But life follows the same principles, doesn't it?" He pointed at a card which flipped itself over. "The card representing the immediate future is Fortune in the upright position. A symbol of, well, fortune. It seems that your fortune will change in some way. It will likely be good, but everything must cycle so it cannot be said for certain."

He pointed to a second card, which also flipped over. "The card representing the future beyond that is The Chariot. A complex card, it can mean a hard fight or a merging of two groups under one leader, among other things." For some reason, he ignored the other cards. "It seems that there will be a sudden change of fortune and you will be forced into either a fight or a position of leadership, possibly both.

"In the next few days, you will enter into a contract. My duty to you, a guest here, is to provide assistance and make sure that nothing terrible befalls you. We will talk more some other time. Until then, farewell." The two men disappeared. Then the table, followed by the train. Then the stars blinked out, and I was left in total darkness.

I woke up on the real train. People surrounded me, but the noise was low as the sun was just beginning to rise and most were asleep still. What had just happened? Was that really just a dream, or was it something more? It felt too weird to be real, but also felt too important to just be a dream.

I noticed my reflection in the window and looked over it. Short brown hair, thankfully still in good condition after sleeping against the train seat. I've been told that before that my face looked generic, and I really didn't have any noteworthy features: dark eyes, average nose and mouth, small chin. I was average height, average width. I don't work out but I don't spend all my time just lounging around so I had average muscling. Even my name was kind of generic. I guess I am totally generic and average, so how could something big be happening to me?

As I mulled over my thoughts, the city pulled into view. More people had started waking up and looking at the town. Just something that happened every day, a train pulling into a major city. The sun rising like any normal day. But it was also an unusual day. With the arrival in Osaka, a whole new life for me starts. Who known how things will go?

We arrived at the train station and me and my parents got off the train. My uncle, my father's older brother and a rather round man in bright clothes, greeted us there. He gave us a ride back to his home. He lived in an apartment building and led us up to where his family lived.

He lived with his wife and young daughter-my aunt and cousin-but they were out when we arrived. The apartment was clean and rather lackluster, nothing very memorable. It kind of reminds me of myself.

Later on, while my parents were talking to my uncle and I sat there being ignored, my aunt and cousin came back. My aunt was apparently even older than my uncle, though I didn't know her age, but looked only a few years older than myself. My cousin was young, though I don't remember exactly how young since it's been a while since I last saw her. They both greeted me warmly, but soon left me alone like the others. Normally I am not such a loner, but the dream just sticks in my head and makes me think.

"I am going out for a walk, I will stick in the neighborhood," I called to the others. I need some air, and I won't get that thinking to myself.

"Don't forget the address, be back soon," my dad responded with barely a thought.

I put back on my shoes and left the apartment, noting the number and address as I left. I've never been to Osaka before so I just followed the sidewalk in a circle a few times.

As I came in front of the apartment building again, I noticed a small shrine across the street. Weird, I could have sworn it was a shop before, but now it was definitely a shrine. So I crossed the street and went into it. It was rather plain, just the shrine itself and a small garden and gate, but I felt myself drawn to it.

"Oh, hello, we don't get many visitors" a woman greeted me from behind. I turned around to look at her. She wore a white robe unlike one a shrine worker would usually wear. She had curly brown hair and looked foreign, like she was from Europe or something with a deep tan and green eyes.

"Oh, It is okay for me to be here, isn't it?" She responded with a smile and didn't say anything out loud for a few minutes.

"Of course it is. Please, make a prayer to the temple god before you leave."

"Of course, what is his name?" She just smiled at me again. I am not sure what to make of that smile, so I just go up to the shrine and make a small prayer to a god who I don't even know the name of. When I finished, I felt an odd flow of energy through my body and my thoughts cleared up. When I looked around, the shrine worker had disappeared so I left and returned to the apartment.

I spent the night on a spare futon in my cousin's room. It was surprisingly comfortable, but I couldn't get to sleep. I tossed and turned in bed for a while with my eyes closed, but nothing happened. Finally I gave up and started thinking about the last day. A strange vision, a store changing into a shrine, a meeting with a mysterious woman. It was all very...what the heck is that? I opened my eyes and noticed something weird out the window of the room. The curtain on it had been torn off and it no longer looked out to the city. Instead I saw a hall of mirrors. Looking around, I saw that the room around me had also changed. My cousin had disappeared and the door became a mirror which I could see into perfectly despite a lack of light in the room.

I got up and approached the mirror, watching as my shadow grew. When I got within arms reach, I set a hand on it. My reflection didn't put out its hand. It's eyes started glowing yellow and I stumbled back, falling onto my cousin's small bed.

"What are you?" I shouted at the reflection, which still remained in the same position.

"I am a shadow of the true inner self," it replied. The voice sounded like my own, but with an echo onto it. "I am...hmm." It let out an odd laugh. "I am nothing, there is nothing inside. Not even doubt, you are empty. I can feel some emotion, but they mean nothing, you have nothing true inside."

"Wh-what are you saying? Of course I have something inside." I stuttered out the sentence. "This isn't even possible, what are you?"

"As I said, I am a shadow of the true inner self. I am you. Or I would be, if there was anything to you."

"Shut up, you aren't-" I cut myself off as a thought struck me. I said it myself, I am generic. I never get overly emotional, I never stand out in anything, I am absolutely plain. "You're right, you are me. I do feel some things, like irritation right now. But I am undefined. I am just 'that guy' who no one really knows, not even I do. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you're telling me to change, I will. You are me, thank you."

The shadow smiled. "Yes, I am thou." A blue light engulfed it. When the light faded, a new form stood there. It looked like a brown ninja. He had Sarutobi etched on a grey metal headband and a monkey's tail. He did a quick spin in the air, revealing a 10 on his back and that he was floating mid-air. "And thou art I. I am Sarutobi Sasuke, the Agile Koga of the Sanada Ten Braves." He faded away as the sentence finished.

"What in the world?" I felt a flash of pain in my head and fell over, sinking into unconscious.

I woke up the next morning back on the futon. Everything looked normal again, and I couldn't help but wonder if what happened last night was just a dream. I mean, that just wasn't possible, why am I even thinking it could have been real. But it seems to coincidental with the other dream and my visit to the shrine. As I started to stand up, my head practically split open in pain and I fell back onto the futon.

The image of the brown ninja from my dream appeared in my head surrounded by space. A weird grid of information, like something from a video game, appeared. I didn't recognize any of it, but somehow I could make it out. It read: Level 1, Fool Arcana. Sarutobi Sasuke. Resists Wind, Weak to Electric, Blocks Light. Knows Garu, Bash, and Rakukaja. Then it listed Strength, Magic, Endurance, Agility, and Luck; and had a number besides each, a mixture of twos and threes. What does any of that mean?

As I finished looking over it, the headache faded and the image disappeared. I opened my eyes to see my cousin tiredly looking at me.

"Don't worry, go back to sleep," I told her as I got up. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep. I closed my eyes and fell into thought.

The information I just saw shows that either everything from the last day or so was real, or I've gone mad. Either way, I am worried. How could this be real? A dimension between dreams and reality with a train and mysterious passengers? A dream where I had to confront my 'real self' which then became some sort of ninja? No way this can be real, but I am not mad either.

I have to see Igor or that shrine maiden, they are both suspicious if they are real at all. I can't just go to a realm 'between reality and dreams', but the shrine across the street should be easy enough. No one else was awake, and a look out of the window showed that the sun was actually just rising. We would be leaving to Okako soon, so I should hurry up. I wrote up a quick note that I was running across the street for a little while. My parents probably wouldn't care that I ran out since they would know where I was.

Unfortunately, there was no shrine across the street. Just a small grocery store. Maybe I am mad. No, this whole thing stinks of impossible magic, maybe getting to the shrine requires magic too? What did I do before going there yesterday? I walked around the neighborhood a few times, like four or five. So I did that again.

The shrine still wasn't there. I tried going around the neighborhood again. Still nothing. So I decided to go into the store. To my surprise, the cashier was the shrine maiden. She looked at me as I came in and made eye contact. I felt fear looking into her eyes, but forced myself to approach the counter.

"Hello, sir," she greeted. Her voice was warm, but didn't clear my fear or apprehension. "Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you, too," I returned the greetings. "Hey, um, uh…"

"Not now," she said flatly. "That is not a public matter. I will explain everything later."

"I won't be here later," I managed to gather up and say. "I am leaving to another town and I probably won't be coming back."

"And? Everything will be explained in due time."

"But-" she cut me off with a raised hand.

"Everything will be explained," she repeated.

"Fine." I grabbed a candy bar and drink and pulled out my wallet. "I will take this then, might as well get something while I am here." After making my purchase, I went back to the apartment. My father and uncle were awake and eating some breakfast.

"Hey, Taro," my uncle greeted. "Where were you?"

"Just ran across the street to buy some things from the store there," I replied.

"Well, we are heading out in an hour," my father spoke up. "Make sure you are ready."

"Okay."

It took two hours to get to our new house. Then it took an extra hour and a half for the moving truck with all of our things in it to arrive. We unpacked quickly and waited for something else to happen.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the Persona series nor do I own the Megami Tensei super-series that it is a part of. I do own the ideas, plot, and characters of this fanfic. Any products, services, logos, works, or companies referenced are the property of their respective owners. Also, I forgot to mention, but the last chapter was a bit of a prologue/lead-up. Normal chapters will be a good bit longer than the four pages it clocked in at.

Chapter: Fool

-Wednesday April 1st-

It took a surprising amount of time for anything else related to the persona to happen. In fact, if it were not for the fact that I could still see the image in my head if I thought hard, I would start thinking it was all my imagination and memory acting up. That changed with the start of a new school year.

Being a small town, Okako only had one high school, so at least I knew where I was going. Okako High, such an odd name just being named after the town, but it works at least.

I was on my bike, riding to school. It was a clear, sunny day. I was wearing my new school uniform, a pretty standard dark blue button up shirt and black pants. The quickest path, and the one I was taking, took me through the city's business district. It was a few streets of small businesses. From what I've heard so far from the few people I've run into, most people with jobs either own or work at one of these places. The rest work at the school, a few other places in other parts of the town, and some in nearby towns where it is more expensive to live so they just live here.

I was riding through when a wave of nausea came over me, almost knocking me off my bike. I stopped it, climbed off weakly, and fell to my knees. My vision became blurry and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the city was gone, replaced by a forest. A light mist hung on the trees and screams of people filled the air. Human-like shadows moved on the ground, nothing around to cast them in the shapes or movements they displayed. What the heck?

I started rising from my knees as the nausea passed. The forest, screams, and moving shadows all faded as I stood up. I was suddenly back in the city, holding on to my bike as the few people around gave me odd looks. I have no idea what just happened, but it is probably related to everything else that has happened lately. A clear omen that big things were close to starting. I climbed back on to my bike and took off again.

The school building was an unimpressive brick with little decoration past a few signs saying the school name. The student body, however, was much more interesting. There were a few hundred students here, far more than one would guess from how small the city was. Groups of students walked around, people sometimes going into or leaving one. A large number of students by themselves also flitted through on the grounds. All guys wore the same uniform as me, while all the girls wore a dark blue top and black skirt. Most had small customizations, but the general uniform was the same.

Some students caught my attention more than others. There was a girl who had a white stocking and a black one and carried a black umbrella. The crowds parted for her and her odd style made her stand out. The largest group gathered around a tall boy who looked well-dressed and rich even in just the uniform. There was also a girl with bright pink hair. But all three disappeared from sight quickly.

My home room was 3-B. Mr. Santos, a foreign name probably meaning my teacher was foreign. But he was not in the room by the time I arrived. To my surprise, all three of the students I noticed when I arrived at school had the same home room as me. The pink-haired girl was sitting next to another girl who had wavy, blond hair. The well-dressed boy stood in front of both, talking. I did not hear what he said, but the blond-haired girl looked annoyed and yelled at him-apparently his name was Itsuki Katsuragi.

The girl with the umbrella sat in the back row in the corner next to the window. No one approached her desk and she made no attempt to talk to anyone else. I ended up with a seat in the front row. To my left was a boy with a large book. On the other side were two rather generic guys and a forgettable girl.

Mr. Santos entered the room about two minutes after I did. He had a very dark tan and carried himself well. He had short brown hair with a serious face. He wore a dark blue suit and a red tie.

"Olá," he said. "I am Mr. Santos, your home room teacher. Before anyone asks, yes, I am foreign. I moved here from Portugal and speak both Portuguese and Japanese fluently. I teach geography, and hopefully you all will be able to find any country on a map by the end of the year. But first, how about a little warm-up question?"

Some people let out a loud sigh, but Mr. Santos ignored them. "Can anyone tell me which country speaks Portuguese other than Portugal? How about you?" He was looking right at me.

"Uh…" I think it's South American. What was it? Brazil? Argentina? Paraguay, maybe?

"Brazil," I guessed. Mr. Santos smiled and put his hands together.

"Good, you got it right," he said happily.

Well at least I got it right. Knowledge increased, I guess.

Class proceeded with the rest of the day being a mixture of introductions, basic review questions, and a painfully awkward lunch break where I just sat quietly at my desk and ate. By the end of the school day, I barely knew any of my classmates and was just as unsociable as this morning. I did hear an interesting rumor though.

I overheard the pink-haired girl and her friend talking at lunch-we sat at opposite ends of the class but most students cleared out for lunch and the pink-haired girl was rather loud. The rumor said that if you went to a certain place-the girl wasn't sure where, but she thought it was either one of the cafes in town or the local library-and then stayed awake until midnight, you would immediately fall asleep and experience a horrific nightmare. The rumor said that you went to a near-empty world covered in fog and trees. Monsters lived there that would attack anyone who went outside, and that if you got killed by one then you died in real life. Shadowy, human-size monsters lived there.

Obviously, this had connections to what I had seen earlier. Not an exact match, since I saw it immediately and it only lasted a few seconds, but still far too close to dismiss. I would have liked to ask more about it, but I didn't know the girls. So I let it go for the time.

Now, it was almost midnight. I normally would be asleep by now, but I wanted to check the rumors. If they were fake, then that was a load off my shoulders. But if they were true, then I needed to find out as quickly as possible.

A mist had set in, but that was not close to unheard of in this area. Trees started appearing in the mist is different places. With the fact a row of houses should have been there and not trees, that was definitely unheard of. The barely visible blood-red sky beyond the fog was also rather unheard of. I felt a soft pounding in the back of my head, pulling me to leave the house. I did not even go that far, the door from my bedroom led directly outside.

It was as dark as you would expect from a misty midnight. It seemed like the trees gave off their own light as they were the only noticeable things. A shadow moved quickly across the line of trees, impossible to make out any details on. I turned around to go back into the house. But I faced a grove of softly glowing trees and no buildings. Well damn.

Suddenly, another shadow rose up. It looked like a pile of goo with a blue mask on it. The mask on it had eye holes and a frowning mouth cut in it. An I sat on the forehead.

"It is time, summon me," a voice echoed in my head. It must be Sarutobi Sasuke, me persona.

"I do not know how," I said out loud. The voice didn't give a reply, but an idea still came to me.

"Per…" the odd being turned the part of it with the mask on it at the first syllable. "Son…" it reared back like it was going to lunge at me. "A!" A blue light appeared with the brown ninja Sarutobi Sasuke rose out of it. And then a sword tore through the creature before Sarutobi could even move.

The shadow disappeared with a small splash of odd black bubbles. A new glow appeared from behind where the shadow was. It was the shrine maiden from Osaka. She held the blade easily and put it down into a sheath on her side. She wore the same clothes she did back when we first met and the only difference to her was a sword and sheath.

"Who are you?" I asked after I got over my surprise at her sudden appearance.

"I have many names and titles," she replied calmly. "Neith, Hippeia, Glaukopis, Minerva, and many others. You may call me Athena. I believe it is only fair you give me your name now."

"Taro Yamada," I replied. Another one of the blob monsters rose up next to Athena. She had it destroyed in the blink of an eye, barely showing that she even noticed its presence. "What are you?"

"I am a mere goddess, a fusion of human beliefs and thoughts." She said it so calmly it took a second for it to sink in.

"A...goddess? Like a real goddess?" She put on a strict glare that answered my question. "No way in Hell," I whispered. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. A goddess? A mysterious train between our world and dreams? Some other realm where blob monsters live? Facing my 'inner self' and getting a Persona, which I still do not even know what that is? The fact it all happened during such a large turning point in my life as a major move did not help.

I hate to admit it, but I fell to my knees. "No way in hell. I am a normal teen. No way in hell this is all happening. I am having a break-down from the move, I have to be." Athena slapped me so suddenly and hard that I actually flew a couple of feet.

"This is real and you got involved in it. Either you pull yourself together or you die. Now catch." She threw her sheathed sword at me. I tried to catch it, but it still hit me in the chest and knocked the wind out of me.

I stood up and picked up the sword. "Your sword? Why are you-" the question was cut off as one of the shadows absorbed me. I must have missed it as I was breaking down. Everything turned black for a second and a gust of wind rushed up my skin. Then the blackness cleared and I found myself standing in a circular area. The ground was concrete, the sky red, and shining trees sat around in mist. It felt almost like someone cut out a circle from the world I was in.

Two shadows were in the area with me. They were both low to the ground and looked like piles of ink. Two hands stuck out of each along with a mound topped with a blue mask like those on the other shadows. Really, these seemed kind of like miniature versions of the other shadows.

"I will now teach you to fight," the voice of Athena announced inside my head. "You do need help, yes?"

"Yeah," I yelled back. I clumsily pulled the sword out of the sheath and held it in one hand like I saw her doing. It was surprisingly heavy and I had to use both hands.

"These are Shadows. They are mindless and wish only to spread negative emotions. You are to kill all that you can."

"Where am I?"

"A pocket dimension within the shadow. The area is connected to, but separate from, this world. Either kill the shadows there, pull a successful retreat, or have the shadows retreat and you will leave the pocket dimension. And be warned as the pocket dimensions have their own rules. You must battle in turns. While this gives you plenty of time for strategies, you are restrained since you cannot break this order."

"Like a video game?" I offered the comparison. She gave a very neutral 'Indeed'.

"You have one move before it passes on. In this battle it would move to your opponent. Unless you can hit a weakness."

"Weakness?"

"Indeed. There are two different types of attacks: physical and magic. Magic has six further types: fire, ice, electric, wind, light, and dark. Both persona and shadows are affected by the different types of attacks in different ways. They can be weak to a type which makes them take extra damage. They can be neutral which does not affect the damage at all. They can resist it, cutting the damage. They can nullify it, stopping the attack dead in its tracks. They can also absorb it where they absorb the attack to heal themselves. Finally, they can repel it and send the attack back at the attacker. You should have a magic attack, I believe. See how it affects the shadows."

Magic attack? What? "Garu!" the command just kind of came out. Sarutobi Sasuke appeared from blue light and held out a hand. A blast of wind slammed one of the shadows.

"How do you feel?" Athena asked me.

"Kind of nervous, but fine," I replied.

"Well then that means they take neutral damage from wind spells like Garu. I will keep track of how each shadow is affected by each kind of attack so you can use it as a reference. Now watch out, it is your opponents turn."

One of the shadows let out a gurgling sound and charged me. I managed to sidestep the dodge. The shadow returned to the other side of the battle area, looking a bit dizzied.

"Congratulations," Athena toned in. "When you dodge an enemy attack, hit a weak point, or manage a critical blow to them, you will dizzy an enemy. Getting a critical blow or hitting the weak point on a dizzy enemy knocks it down. This temporarily incapacitates the shadow. But watch out, because the same will happen if a shadow dodges your attack, hits your weak point, or gets a critical blow on you."

The other shadow let out a similar gurgling sound and charged me. I tried to sidestep it, but it reached over and scratched me as it passed. It did not hurt much, but it stung.

"Good, now it is your turn. You can use a normal physical attack using the sword I gave you. But you can also use physical skills of your Persona. Watch out as they drain some of your life force, but a well-used physical skill can save you in a fight. Try it out."

"Bash!" I called the order. Sarutobi Sasuke appeared again. The brown ninja charged the dizzy shadow. The shadow split into a small group of black bubbles that faded away.

The remaining shadow let out another gurgling noise. A light blue aura filled the air and it shot a chunk of ice at me. It slammed into me, but I held my ground.

"That was Bufu, an ice spell," Athena explained. "Seems it does neutral damage to you. How good are you with a sword?"

"Not at all," I answered truthfully.

"Good, then you start like all the masters. Attack."

I approached the shadow and swung the sword. It left a jagged cut through the shadow. I walked back over to where I was.

"That was terrible," Athena summarized. "You are lucky the shadow is so weak, or your bad technique would probably be your own death."

I mumbled a sarcastic thanks. The shadow sent another chunk of ice at me. I started feeling rather sore.

"You are running low on health, just finish this," Athena commanded.

"Garu!" The wind blast tore apart the shadow. I felt a rush of energy fill my body.

"Congratulations. You defeated the shadow. As you defeat shadows, you and your persona will absorb strength from this. This absorption will increase your power once you hit certain intervals."

"Like levels in a video game?"

She sighed. "Yes, like levels in a video game. Each time you hit a new 'level' your abilities increase. Same with your persona. Be aware that, even though you and your persona are the same being, you will gain levels at different intervals. At any time, if you focus, you can see how much longer it will take your to reach a new 'level'. You can also see your power, your skills, and how you are affected by each type of attack."

As she finished speaking, another gust of wind covered me as things faded to black. The blackness faded away to show the misty world again. Athena stood there seriously.

"You still have much to learn," she said. "But that can wait. You will be back and you can try again then. For now, go back." She tapped my forehead and I fell asleep.

I woke up on the blue train. The table, old man, and tall man in the blue suit were all there.

"Welcome back, dear guest," Igor greeted me.

"'Sup," Victor added.

"You have awoken to your inner persona, it seems," Igor said. "And you have gotten experience against shadows. I am not allowed by my master to tell you what is happening, but I can give help. Before I give you new information, is there anything you need explained?"

"No, I think I understand it all as best I can."

"Good, good. You know about tarot, yes?" I nodded in response. Not really, but I did not feel like getting a lecture on fortune-telling. "Good, good. Then this should make sense. You embody the fool arcana."

He pulled out one of his blue-backed cards and flipped it over. A young man with a sack attached to a stick was walking along on a path. A small dog danced around his feet. At the bottom it displayed '0 The Fool'.

"Arcana 0, the fool, represents emptiness and nothingness. But it also represents infinite potential, endless possibilities. You are the unskilled traveler trying to make a tale for yourself."

It made no sense to me based on tarot, but I could pick up on his logic.******  
**

"You are by no means the only fool, but you also possess a special power that only a few have, the wild card. This ability allows your soul extreme flexibility. This means that you have access to multiple persona. You can find them in the other world. You can also fuse the ones you gather to produce new persona. I detect 215 or so persona buried in your soul. My assistant here," he gestured to Victor who responded with a 'Sup', "holds a stores all of your unlocked persona.

"You can only hold a few on you at a time without overloading your own soul. So you are only permitted how many you can handle. But at any time you can release one from your mind, or just use multiple in fusion to clear up space. Then, for a small cash charge, we can give you one of your persona. Any questions so far?"

"I have to pay for parts of my soul?"

"You can't know yourself until you know your own worth," Victor chimed in. "How can you be trusted with the power of persona if you put no value in it?"

"Good point. No more questions," I responded with a small, sweeping hand gesture. "Continue, please."

"Good, good," Igor picked up where he left off. "As you only have one persona, you cannot perform fusion now. I will give more in-depth details when it is necessary. The time is coming. You will need to step up and be a leader. For now, take this."

Victor stepped forward and held out his hand. I mirrored the stance and he dropped a small blue key in my hand.

"That key will allow you access to the Velvet Room at any time," Igor continued. "Keep it on your person always. Now, it is time for you to go back to your world. Farewell for now, dear guest. You are welcome back anytime."

"See ya," Victor added on.

Just as suddenly as the train appeared, it disappeared and I fell asleep again.

-Thursday April 2nd-

I woke up in bed. My nice, warm bed. Which was weird since I was sitting in the chair at my desk last thing I remember. What happened? I think I had an odd dream last night, but it refuses to come back to me. Whatever it was, it was just a dream so it probably was not that important.

I got up and took a quick shower. A nagging feeling hung by me for the whole time, but I could not think of anything important.

Finally, as I finished putting on my school uniform, it occurred to me. I saw a sword in a brown sheath sitting besides my bed and what happened last night flooded back. I let out a small 'no' in disbelief. "This can not be real. That sword is not really there." I closed my eyes and counted to ten before reopening them. It was still sitting there besides my bed. I let out an exasperated 'damn it' and grabbed my school bag. I will deal with this whole mess later. For now, I need to get to school.


	3. Chapter 3

A special thank you to October Autumn for leaving the first review for this story and following this.

I do not own the Persona series nor do I own the Megami Tensei super-series that it is a part of. I do own the ideas, plot, and characters of this fanfic. Any products, services, logos, works, or companies referenced are the property of their respective owners.

Chapter: The Magician

-Thursday April 2nd-

I was hoping for a boring school day so I could think over the fact my life has completely changed. That did not turn out like I had hoped. The principal called in the entire school for an assembly for first period. She looked really young, like she could be in her early twenties. Being a principal, she was probably older than that, but she still had a youthful appearance. It was all about about the standards of the school and some rules that all students were supposed to follow.

By the time it ended, home room was over and we had second period. Second period was a math class taught by Mr. Hanazawa, who had an odd obsession with flowers. Thankfully, I was passed over for having to answer any flower-related math problems. But it was still too loud to think.

In my third class, an English class, we had partner work-the teacher said it was to let us share what we know with each other. My partner was the boy to my left, the one usually with the book. He quietly introduced himself as Makoto Honda. Neither of us talked past the introductions, but I'm not good with English so I worked too hard to have a chance to think.

In fourth period, Japanese literature, the teacher decided to go through more review. I was not lucky enough to escape having to answer questions this time around and had to actually pay attention. At the very least, I am good in this subject so it was easy.

After that was lunch. Most of the students left, like yesterday. The sounds from next door make it seem like they went over to room 3-C. I remained in class with Honda, the pink-haired girl and her friend, the girl with mismatched stockings, and two random boys a row behind me. No one talked about anything interesting. Makoto ate a small lunch and started reading. The two girls in the back were talking about hair-the pink-haired girl apparently wanted to die her hair girl with the mismatched stockings was whistling some slow tune while eating a box full of sushi. The other two boys discussed a baseball game that was on the other day.

I took this break to think about what happened last night. I remember just passing out around midnight. Although I was walking around my room and somehow woke up in bed. Maybe Athena or Igor placed me in bed? I really hope not, that would be weird. Actually, I don't even remember falling asleep.

I already accepted this all was happening, but I thought it was in some weird dream world. If the other world is real, then what happens to this world? Or does my bedroom somehow change where it is without me even noticing? No, me seeing the other world outside of that cafe means that can not be it. Damn, even thinking it over it makes no sense. I just have no idea what is going on, and that is aggravating. I feel like a chess piece, serving some purpose in some plan without knowing it.

No other thoughts stay in my mind for more than a few seconds for the rest of lunch. Finally, classes resumed.

Fifth period, chemistry, was also partner review. Again I was put with Honda. I am actually pretty good with chemistry, so this went faster than in English. It was just as quiet though, neither of us actually saying anything.

Sixth period, Physical Education, was the last class of the day. Even in that we were doing reviews, going over proper stretching rules. It was a very mild day so I had no problems with the fact we were outside for most of the period. But I had no gym clothes prepared and stretching in a school uniform is awkward. I must remember to get some in the next few days. The gym teacher was a relaxed middle-aged man with bright red hair. Whenever the class finished something, he let out a rather loud laugh before moving on.

Overall, school was going okay, even if it was still the first two days. Although at my old school in the city we had eight periods that were slightly shorter than at this school, so I'm still getting used to that change. I was also surprised that school here is only monday through friday, back in the city we had monday through saturday. I am not sure what I will do with a whole extra day each week.

I was planning on just riding right home after school. But I felt drawn to a small cafe as I passed it. It took me a second staring at the sign to realize it, but this was the same place I got nauseous next to yesterday. It was a brick building painted to look like wood, for some reason. The orange sign out front read 'Heart of the Hill Cafe' and displayed a white tea cup.

I placed my bike out front and walked in. I was greeted by the woman behind the counter. To my surprise and shock, the worker was a familiar dark-skinned woman. "A-Athena?" I have had my fair share of surprises over the last week or so, and they keep coming. "What are you doing here?"

"Working," she replied. Her tone was so straight and flat that I almost accepted the response without a second thought.

"Oh...wait, no. Why are you working in a cafe? And how is it that you are working in the cafe I just happen to walk into? And what the hell was up with last night?"

I got a few strange looks. One man looked at me and then Athena and let out a low whistle. I am pretty sure I know the implications of that whistle, but I am just going to ignore it.

"It is not a public matter," she responded in the same flat tone. The man let out another whistle and we both ignored him.

"Well I need some answers. When can we go somewhere more private?" The customer let out a third whistle. Athena looked over to him and gave what most would probably classify as a death glare. I did not look at the patron, but I doubt he still feels like being an annoyance.

"Do you know where the library is in this town?"

Uhhh...yeah, it is a block away from the school, heading left from the main entrance. I nodded my head.

"Good, go there." I was going to ask 'when?', but she kept talking after a brief pause. "Just go, whenever is fine. But preferably leave now."

"Okay. Oh, but I do want a muffin, lemon if you have any." She handed me the lemon muffin and I handed her the money, thankfully I had exact change for it. Then I left the store and went back to my bike. It was a rather normal bike, black with grey highlights and nothing fancy. It did have a small wire basket on the front though, currently holding my backpack. I moved it over a little and set the muffin next to the bag.

I went back the way I came from to return to the school and took a left. Then I remembered that the library is left leaving the school, so I turned around.

The library was as unimpressive as the school. It was a simple brick building with a sign saying 'Library'. There was also the hours of operation on some windows surrounding the door along with a sign saying 'No yelling or horseplay'. There was a bike rack on the side that I set my bike in. I should probably buy a lock one of these days, but that is for another time.

The inside of the library was significantly more impressive. It was two stories with a multitude of full shelves. There was a check-out/check-in desk near the center of the left wall. An elderly lady with dull brown hair pulled into a bun stood behind it. In front of the desk was a clearing with some sitting chairs and a row of computers.

In one of the chairs, Athena was calmly reading a brown book with a soldier holding a spear on the front. It looked like English, a really odd word. 'Iliad,' whatever that means. She looked up at me as I took a seat across from her.

"Greetings, Taro." Did she just use my first name? Normally I might say something about that, but she is a goddess so I will just let it go.

"Greetings, Athena," I replied. "So, can I get some answers now? Please?"

"Yes, ask anything. As long as it is related to our situation, I will answer." She set down her book and pulled a notebook out of...actually, where did that come from? Probably some sort of god power.

"First, something from when we first met. Who was that god I prayed to in your temple?"

"You did not actually pray to any god." She opened the notebook and wrote something in it. "That was a temple between dreams and reality."

"Like the Velvet Room?" I interrupted. She struck something out in her notebook and wrote something new.

"You have some familiarity with that, then. Good, but that is a matter for Igor." She scribbled more in her notebook. I could make this out to be writing Igor's name. They must be connected then. "Back on topic, the temple exists between dreams and reality. Your appearance there meant that Philemon wanted you to do something. The prayer was you making a contract with Philemon, which granted you the powers of persona."

"Who is Philemon?"

"Philemon is a guide for the entirety of humanity. He is formed of humanity's goodness and hope, and constantly striving to help humans. In times of crisis, like now, he grants chosen humans the power of persona to combat threats."

"Why me?"

"I have no idea. Philemon is a bit...eclectic in his tastes." Athena closed the notebook and then opened it again. "You would have to ask him yourself, but you might have to go through Igor for that. Anything else?"

"Yes. A lot more. What threat requires me to beat?"

"I am not sure I'm allowed to tell you. Same with the exact nature of the forest in the other world. Philemon might have plans for revealing the information."

Well that is annoying. I guess I can only get so many answers today. "Can you tell me about the other world in general?"

"Here." She took out a small pamphlet and handed it to me. It was blank. I almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it was. A blank pamphlet for an alternate world being given to me by a goddess in a library, probably made by some being that is 'humanity's goodness and hope' and apparently owns an otherworldly blue train.

"It's blank," I said after looking it over a few times and calming my annoyance. "Is it, like, invisible ink or something?"

"In a way. It is only visible in the other world. Sorry about that, Philemon designed it-" I guess I was right about that- "and he can sometimes be a bit airheaded and make mistakes. Honestly, I'm not even sure the Japanese on it is correct, but it should be mostly legible." Lovely.

"Okay. I am guessing that for anything about my persona I should ask Igor." She nodded and scribbled in her notebook. "And that thing about shadows being-what was it?-'mindless and wanting to spread negative emotions' is all I will get told about them."

"Well I can also tell you that they are made of negative emotions." She scribbled some more.

"What are you doing in that notebook?"

She turned the notebook to show me. It was covered in-admittedly rather good-drawings of owls. Igor and Philemon were written in small letters a few times.

"Owls? You are drawing owls? Why the hell are you drawing owls at a time like this?" I said that last bit a bit louder than I meant to, and got a few odd looks including a rather dirty one from the librarian.

"Hush now or I'll kick you out," the librarian threatened.

"Sorry ma'am," I sheepishly replied. I turned back to Athena and tried my best to keep quiet. "Why are you drawing owls?"

"I like owls," she replied. She almost sounded like a child, she even puffed out her cheeks like one. "Do you have a problem with owls?"

"N-no, sorry." Wait, why am I getting questioned? And why is a goddess acting like a little kid? "I-I think that is all the questions I have for now. Do you know how I could get to the Velvet Room?"

"You got a key from Igor, right? Just look for a blue door and open it. They can pop up in different areas in town, but you should be able to find one if you just look." She went back to drawing her owls.

I thanked her and left. I will talk to Igor tomorrow, for now I feel like going home and getting some rest from odd supernatural beings. On the way home, I noticed an odd butterfly. It had no distinct features and was just a glowing blue shape that resembled a butterfly. Probably another insane god I have to deal with.

It was almost midnight. I tried sleeping, but my body refused. Finally, annoyed, I decided to get up out of bed and burn some energy doing something. I threw the blanket off of me and flipped on a lamp on my nightstand.

Getting up, I quietly walked over to my backpack and pulled out the blank pamphlet. I paced around my room, trying to be as quiet as I could. Finally, the clock made twelve light beeps. Text appeared on the pamphlet. Damn it, guess that means I am in the other world again. Still, I can at least read the pamphlet now.

Or at least I wish I could. When Athena said the Japanese may be a bit off, she was right. It appeared to be written in Chinese. Lovely. I really feel like killing something now. Shadows will do as much as anything else, probably even better than anything else. So I left my room, which led right to the outside like it did yesterday.

It was still as foggy as yesterday and the glowing trees still filled the landscape. The sky was as red as yesterday, but I could actually see it a bit better today. I saw the shadows going along the trees, but they made no attempt to attack me. Athena was not waiting for me, so I guess I am on my own tonight.

I do not know how long I wandered in the forest, but eventually I came across something interesting. It was a simple, two-story brick building. The sign was missing the middle character, but I can guess it meant to say library. Just break the sign and some of the windows and the library in my world would look exactly like this place. No way this is unimportant.

I started towards the entrance when I noticed something softly shining on the ground. I picked it up to see it was a piece of paper covered in owls. I guess Athena is here. But where?

"I'll trade you," a woman whispered in my ear. I jumped and turned around. Athena stood there chuckling lightly to herself. "You forgot the sword I gave you," she held up the sheathed sword. "So how about a trade? I give you the sword, you give me back my paper."

"Sure." We exchanged the items and I looked back at the library. "What is the library doing here?"

"It seems that someone else got drawn into this world. When someone without an active persona enters this world their psyche builds an area for them. Shadows take residence in these areas, usually themed to the area. If the person dies, the area fades. You will probably have a couple weeks on average before the person dies. Time runs a bit differently here so they won't starve or dehydrate to death."

"Well I guess that is good. I am guessing I have to save whoever is in there."

"Most likely. You could just ignore it. But since you know someone is in there and their life is at risk, wouldn't ignoring it be the same as condoning their murder?" I feel like she is smirking now, but I just stared at the library. I am really not a hero, but how can I just stand by while someone's life is in danger?

"What if the shadows in there are more powerful than I am?"

"They probably won't be. And even if they are, at least you tried. So are you going in now?"

"I guess. Also, that stupid pamphlet you gave me was in Chinese, not Japanese."

"Sorry about that. I'll set up a psychic link so we can keep in contact."

"You know, you are a goddess. Why not just fight with me, instead of just being support?"

"Well then how would you get any stronger?" I looked at her to make sure if she was smirking now. She was. What a wonderfully mature goddess. "Now get going in."

"Okay." I walked up to the door and went in. The outside may have been a bit run-down, but the inside was even better looking than in my world. The row of computers and check-out desk were both missing, but there were even more shelves of books. While the shelves back home were a bit dusty and the books showed their age, these shelves were clean and the books all looked brand new.

"There is something on the second floor," Athena's voice spoke in my mind. "I detect a powerful shadow and a human. Be careful."

"Any other shadows?" I asked her. I wonder if she would hear me if I thought back to her? But this not the time for experiments.

"No. This area probably formed very recently so they haven't had a chance to move in yet.

"Good, less fighting." The book shelves formed a bit of a maze. I ran into a dead end at one point with a small chest. It looked like a thick book with the word chest on it. When I opened it up, it was hollowed out with a small seed inside.

"What is this?"

"That is a peach seed. If you eat it, you will restore some life force," Athena replied.

"That may be useful." I pocketed the seed and continued through the maze. I hit two more dead ends. After some wandering around, I managed to make my way back out to the entrance of the maze.

"Oh, maybe I should tell you about this," Athena spoke up in my head. "As you walk around, I can make a mental map of the current floor. If you focus a little, you should be able to see the map. It might help with navigation."

"Thanks, but why are you just mentioning this now?"

"I didn't think it was that important. It is a small place, even if it is complicated."

I closed my eyes and focused. A bird's eye map of the floor appeared. It looks like I should go left into the maze, take the first right, second left, and then a right. I repeated the sequence to myself a few times before opening my eyes.

I still managed to lose my way trying to follow the instructions. Somehow, I managed to luck my way out of the bookcase maze to a staircase. I followed it up to a locked room. I focused so I could see the map again. Unless there was some sort of secret area, it looked like I covered the whole floor. So no key.

I still have to get in there though. I backed up and got ready to charge the door.

"Kick the door near the handle," Athena interrupted me. "You can dislocate your shoulder charging the door."

"Uh, thanks," I responded. A dislocated shoulder could be really bad if I might get into a fight. I got closer to the door and lifted a leg. I kicked out as hard as I could. My ankle was a bit sore, but the door opened.

The top room had no bookcases, but torn books covered the floor. Two figures stood in the middle. One was a skinny boy in an Okako High uniform with straight black hair. With a quick glance he could look almost like a woman. But I recognized him from my class. It was Makoto Honda. He is always reading, so I guess it makes sense for a library to be important to him.

The other figure looked almost identical to Makoto, but had glowing yellow eyes.

"What is going on?" I asked Athena. "What is that thing with the yellow eyes?"

"I am a shadow of the true inner self," the being said. I looked directly at it, but it was talking to Honda. Its voice was soft but echoed.

"That is a shadow self," Athena said. "As opposed to other shadows that are made of negative emotions from humanity in general, shadow selves are purely from one person. This grants a unity to the shadow that increases its power. It does have one important difference though."

"Wh-what does that mean?" Makoto questioned his shadow self. His soft voice was full of panic, but physically he showed no fear. Really his whole expression was kind of blank.

"I am a shadow of the true inner self," it repeated. "I am all of your doubt and self-hatred. I know that you feel like a disappointment to the family."

"Shut up," Makoto weakly replied.

"Such a big failure that you have driven off your own father," the shadow continued, a grin coming to its face.

"What is it doing?" I thought to Athena. Seems like she can hear what I think, since I got a response.

"Didn't you face your shadow self?" Now that she brought it up, I did remember the encounter with my shadow self. "It brings up all of your flaws it can find. Then it uses the flaws to try and make despair which it can feed off of. If you deny your flaws too much, the shadows can take on a stronger form and utterly devour their other self."

"You are always hiding in your books," the shadow self's grin grew far too large for the face. "Pretending like it might make you less of a disappointment. Maybe mom and dad will care about you again."

"Shut up." Makoto's reply was even weaker than before. "I-I-shut up. You don't know anything. You aren't me."

"That is bad," Athena chimed in. "Get prepared for a fight."

I unsheathed the sword when a thought hit me. "Wait, you said there is an important difference between shadow selves and normal shadows. What is that?"

"Oh, yeah. They can't create the pocket dimensions. You aren't stuck in a turn order like in them. So you can act on the fly and pull of more complicated moves. But you also have less time to strategize and act."

Black energy shot up around the chuckling Shadow Makoto. When the energy faded, it was an totally new figure. A giant red book stood vertically, open. Makoto looked at it for a second before passing out.

"Honda!" I let out an instinctive yell of panic. I rushed in between Makoto and his shadow self, holding up the sword.

"A hero? Impossible, who would ever protect someone as pathetic as me?" the shadow asked.

I held back a response. I could only think of either a generic 'prepare to die, monster.' It is probably better I say nothing than something as corny as that.

"It matters not. Summon!" The pages of the book fluttered and a shadow blob came out of it. I swung the sword at it, but it still absorbed me. A quick flash of darkness and blast of wind later and I was standing in the pocket dimension. Books still covered the floor, but bookcases had appeared around the edge of the area. There were two shadows. There were both black three-headed candle holders. A pale red flame burned on each of their outer heads. On each of the center heads was one of the emotionless blue masks like on the shadows I fought yesterday. They swayed around like a branch in wind.

"Yeah, just fight like normal, not stuck in a pocket dimension," I said out loud.

"Well I didn't know it could do this," Athena retorted. "Don't worry. These are Fiery Candles. They are a very weak shadow, so even two on one shouldn't be hard."

"Okay, then here goes nothing. Garu!" Sasuke appeared with a spin as a blast of wind hit one of the candles. Its flames went out and it stopped moving. "What just happened?"

"You struck a weakness," Athena explained. "Like I explained yesterday, that dizzies it. You also get to go again. You can attack the other one now, or you can go after the same one. If you do something to an already dizzied enemy that would dizzy it, you knock it down. You won't get extra attacks, but it incapacitates the shadow for longer."

"Okay, thanks. Garu!" Sasuke appeared again as another blast of wind appeared, striking the other candle. Its flames went out just like the other one.

"Now rush them!" Athena yelled. "If all enemies are dizzied or knocked down, you can unleash a powerful all-out attack."

"No need to yell. Okay, let's do this." Sarutobi Sasuke appeared beside me and we charged the candles. I swung my sword at them, while Sarutobi attacked with a staff. The attack was hectic but ended quickly. Neither candle showed any damage until I returned to my spot. When I did, they both exploded into small black bubbles and faded away.

I felt a rush of energy spread through me.

"You gained another 'level'," Athena said, obviously disliking the analogy I set up. "It fully heals your life energy along with any magical energy you use up. Sarutobi Sasuke also leveled up and learned a new skill, Rakunda. It decreases an enemy's defense for a little while."

Another flash of darkness and blast of wind brought me out of the pocket dimension and back to the library. I can not imagine ever getting used to that feeling. The Shadow Makoto was screaming and looked to have caught fire.

"This is all your fault! I will have you killed! Summon!" Another one of the blob shadows came out of the book.

"I'm not falling for that again." I dodged around the blob and ran at the book. I brought the sword through the spine of the book. With a loud screech, the book fell apart. To my surprise, that was not the actual shadow. A small wooden doll sat behind it.

"No, don't hurt me. I'm sorry I disappointed you too. Please, don't hurt me," the doll begged.

"Just kill it," Athena ordered me. "It is a shadow, not the real thing. It doesn't actually have feelings."

I brought the sword down just like with the book, cutting the doll in half. The blob shadow exploded into the dark energy bubbles with its summoner gone. The two halves of the shadow reformed back into their original Makoto-like form with yellow eyes.

Makoto let out a small groan as he regained consciousness. He looked up at me and then his shadow self. "What are you?"

"As I said, I am a shadow of the true inner self," Shadow Makoto responded.

"So you are me." Makoto started pushing himself up. I helped him up before backing off again. "I guess I am a bit of a disappointment. But I shouldn't be so hard on myself. Is that what you are trying to tell me?"

The shadow smiled. It was a much more natural smile and almost looked peaceful. The same blue energy that appeared when I accepted my shadow self appeared around his shadow. "I am thou...and thou art I." The new form was a red man with a long ponytail. Instead of legs, a fog spiralled down from his waist to a point. His arms were crossed in front of him and a gold ring was on his left middle finger. "I am the granter of other's wishes, Jinn."

"Jinn?" Makoto looked at it before falling over. I quickly sheathed the sword and ran to grab him.

"Seems like he has persona powers, as well," Athena said. "We have a new ally now. But his energy will probably be low for the next few days. Get out here and I will send you two back to your world."

I grabbed the sword and adjusted Makoto so I could carry him easier. Then I started out of the building.

"Odd," Athena mused. I had carried Makoto out of the library and Athena was now holding him. "A jinn? Most people with a persona have one based on a specific person or god or spirit or even some beast. But it is almost always something specific. The jinn are a race of beings. For his persona to be like this, his psyche must be incredibly weak. It is good we came tonight, I doubt he would survive until tomorrow without us."

I saved someone's life? The full power of it hit me. I had saved a life. If I screwed up, he would have died. I held his fate in my hand. And I didn't even think about it, I jumped right in and helped him. I am still not a hero, but I acted like one.

I could feel my courage increase. But I still had some doubts about all of this.

"So what now?" I asked Athena.

"We wait," she responded. "This boy will need to rest. You could probably use a rest too. The next time someone comes to this world, I will contact you. I don't suggest returning until then. However, I believe I still owe you some answers. We need to meet somewhere tomorrow. How about food?"

"Sure," I agreed. "Where?"

"I know a nice ramen place," she suggested.

"I do not like ramen." Her seriousness fell away to craziness at my response.

"You don't like ramen? But you're Japanese!"

"I-I am pretty sure that counts as racism," I shot back. "What does it matter if I do not like ramen?"

"That just isn't right. How can anyone not like ramen? I'm Greek and I love the stuff!" Athena made a wide gesture with her arms and almost dropped Makoto, quickly readjusting him before he fell off her. "And besides, there are different kinds of ramen. You must like at least one."

"You are a pretty immature goddess, whining over my taste in food."

"I am not!" She summoned a spear and put it in my face as a threat. I probably would have been more scared if the sudden action didn't make Makoto fall off her shoulder and let out a small 'oomph'.

I pushed the spearhead away from my face and bent over to collect Makoto. "How about this? We meet up at this ramen place right after I get out of school. I will still be full from lunch, so I do not have to eat there."

The spear disappeared and she backed up. "Sounds fine to me. Sorry for putting a spear in your face."

"All is forgiven. Now can we leave?"

"Sure." She slipped a piece of paper into my hand and then tapped my forehead. My eyes closed and I fell unconscious. This will be hell to explain to Makoto.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own the Persona series nor do I own the Megami Tensei super-series that it is a part of. I do own the ideas, plot, and characters of this fanfic. Any products, services, logos, works, or companies referenced are the property of their respective owners.

Sorry this took so long to upload. The next update should come much faster.

Chapter: Knowledge

-Friday April 3rd-

My head ached as I woke up. I was lying on top of the sheets, hand still clutched around the piece of paper Athena gave me last night. The sword was propped between my bed and nightstand. Thankfully, at least Makoto was not also here. The alarm clock on my nightstand showed that I still had ten minutes before my alarm would go off. I could get the little bit of extra rest, but it would not matter. So I got up and decided get ready a little early.

But first, that piece of paper Athena gave me. It was a small sheet. On it was an address, most likely the ramen shop she wanted to meet at. I guess that is useful. At least it was in proper Japanese and not Chinese like that pamphlet.

I took a shower and dried off. I fixed down my hair and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was starting to grow out. Maybe I could do something new with it, add a little personality.

"Hurry up, Taro," my mom called from outside the bathroom.

"Okay, mom," I called back.

In a few minutes, I was dressed in my school uniform and eating breakfast. The house was silent except for the sound of the shower. My dad was already at work-he got a job as a manager at a convenience store. Back in town, he managed a branch of an American store, but there were no stores that big in Okako. My mom worked at a bank as a teller.

In the near silence, I accidentally fell into a state of focus. The grid in my mind appeared, almost identical to the one I saw the first morning after I got my persona. A black, white-specked background with three purple boxes. The first was a long one near the top of my vision. I only read some of the information on it the first time I saw it, but now I studied it.

There were boxes for the name, Arcana, level-wait. This actually says level. Why was Athena so annoyed at my comparison to video game levels, then? I will have to ask her about that when we meet up later-and then seven odd symbols. Somehow, I could recognize their meaning: Physical skills, Fire, Ice, Wind, Electric, Dark, and Light. Underneath them was the actual information. Sasuke Sarutobi, Fool, 4, and a resistance to Wind, a weakness to Electric, and nullifying Light. The only change since I first saw this was three extra levels.

On the left side of the middle was the floating form of Sasuke Sarutobi. All of his body was covered in his brown ninja uniform except for brown eyes. His monkey tail waved around in the air. His grey headband was tilted a little.

On the right side, it displayed his statistics. Now that I understood them, this made more sense. Strength, the power of physical skills and basic attacks. Magic, the power of magic attacks. Endurance, the defensive stat. Agility, the ability to land and dodge attacks. Luck, the ability to land critical blows and dodge attacks, almost like a sub-category of Agility. It was now a mixture of 4s and 5s and rather balanced.

On the bottom was a box split into eight sections. The right four were empty, but a skill was listed in each of the left. Garu, a weak wind magic attack to one enemy. Bash, a weak physical attack to one enemy. Rakukaja, a support spell that raises an ally's defense for a short while. Rakunda, a skill that reduces an enemy's defense for a short while.

Now that I looked over the whole area, I purposefully broke my concentration. The shower had stopped and a look at the clock showed that I spent six minutes thinking. I finished my breakfast quickly and grabbed my backpack.

"Bye, mom, have a good day," I yelled right before I left. She probably replied with a 'Have a good day, Taro,' but the door closing covered it up.

I took a slightly different route to school. I avoided the cafe I visited yesterday in an attempt to avert any more incidents related to it. I was still struck by surprise, though. On the new path, I passed by the ramen place that Athena had suggested. Next to the normal door was a blue door giving off a soft glow. I barely stopped myself from falling off of my bike, and forced myself to leave the door alone for now.

Makoto was absent today. Mr. Santos showed some worry for his health, but most of the students looked like they could not care less about him.

For once, I decided to listen to roll call and try to remember some names. The girl with the umbrella was named Yumi Chiba. The pink-haired girl was named Ryoko Sakurako, and the girl she talks to was Nozomi Fukui. The tall, rich-looking boy was Itsuki Katsuragi. None of the other students really seemed that important.

First period was Mr. Santos's geography. It was also supposed to be a class on the history of Japan and how other countries affected it, but Mr. Santos seemed to focus more on the geography part.

"Okay," he said happily. He maintained a business look while speaking like an excited child. "Let's start off today with a question. Who knows what continent Canada is located on?"

Nozomi was called on to answer the question. "North America, sir," she replied. Her voice was calm.

"Good job, Fukui, good job," Mr. Santos complimented. "Now can anybody tell me a province of Canada?"

"Nova Scotia," Nozomi again replied. "My grandma came from there before she moved to Japan."

"Oh, you have foreign family. Well maybe it will help you through the rest of the semester…"

I wanted to keep paying attention to the lecture, but it left my mind. I still learned something though, and felt my knowledge increase slightly.

Makoto showed up in third period. The teacher was still having us do review even though most of the rest of our classes would start new subjects today. With the fact that English seemed to be a hard area for most of the class, with a few exceptions, I could not really blame the teacher.

Makoto apologized to the teacher, Mrs. Ginko, and took his seat. I noticed him looking at me as he sat down. He looked tired and sick. For once, he did not have a book.

Class resumed like normal.

The lunch bell rang. Someone tapped my shoulder. It was Makoto.

"We need to talk," he said. His voice was quieter than usual, I could barely hear him. 'Let's go up to the roof."

I gave him a quick nod and followed him to grab our lunches and then head up to the roof.

The view from the roof was rather nice. The day was rather warm and sunny, at least. There were three short benches on the roof and a fence running around the edge.

I sat down on a bench and Makoto sat down beside me.

"So," he started, "what the hell happened last night?"

"I do not know how to explain it so you do not think I am crazy," I replied. "Sorry, it is just so weird. Here, meet me here after school," I handed him the paper with the address for the ramen shop on it. "You can get your explanation then."

"Okay" Makoto replied. I was going to try and start a conversation when I noticed that Makoto had fallen asleep. Dealing with his shadow must have taken a lot of his energy. It would explain why he looked so tired when he got to school. I decided to let him sleep while I ate.

Finally, the school day ended. Makoto had fallen asleep again, so I had to wake him up.

"Oh, thanks," he mumbled out.

"No problem. Hey, my parents do not care if I stay out a while, but do your parents?"

He visibly winced at the question. He said something very quietly. I asked him to repeat himself and he spoke louder, but unsteadily. "I live with my grandparents. It should be fine with them."

"Oh…" Damn it! That was not good. "Sorry. Come on, let's get going." I led him down to the school entrance. We put on our shoes and grabbed our stuff before leaving.

We biked to the ramen shop-Golden Ramen. The glowing blue door still stood by the normal one. I need to test out what is in there, but after this.

Athena was eating a bowl of ramen when we entered. She seemed a bit surprised to see Makoto following me.

"You brought him?" She said. I think, that is what it sounded like but she had a mouthful of ramen. She swallowed it before continuing. "I'm surprised you're even out of bed. Most people in your position take a while to feel well. Maybe I underestimated you."

"Who is this?" Makoto asked, sitting across from Athena at the small table. "Better question, is this even a safe place to talk about what happened?"

"Of course it is," Athena assured him. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited Taro here."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at me. I put up my hands defensively and he sighed. "So you two must know each other well. Who are you?"

"I'm Athena," she replied. She straightened in her seat and tried to look elegant, but soup from her ramen ran down her chin and ruined the attempt. "I am-"

"The Greek goddess of tactical warfare," Makoto finished. "Daughter of Zeus and Metis in some myths, some say Zeus was her only parent. One of the olympians, and the most powerful. Patron of Athens. I read a lot. So who are you really?"

Athena's expression brightened as Makoto stated facts about her, but instantly fell at the question. "I _am_ Athena. Well, that is my preferred name, but I have a plethora of names and titles."

The skin around Makoto's eye moved up like he raised his eyebrow, but his bangs covered the eyebrow itself. "Interesting. Any proof? Or should we just trust that you aren't a crazy woman?"

"Actually," I decided to speak up. "When we first met, it was in a magic shrine. She also gave me a sword that can kill shadows. She is also very knowledgeable on the shadows, personas, and the other world. I trust her."

"See, I am trustworthy." Athena gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. I really hope her hands are clean.

Makoto seemed to accept my evidence for Athena's godliness, but now had new questions. "Shadows? Personas? Other world?"

"Oh yes, explanations!" Athena clapped her hands together and smiled.

"I accept that she is a goddess," Makoto stated flatly. "But are we sure she is Athena? Athena is supposed to be wise, not childish."

"I am not childish," Athena argued. "Normally, when a god enters a new land they will take on a domestic form. But, somehow, my domestic forms for most of Asia has become their own being. So I'm stuck in a foreign body and it messes with my mind a little."

There was a minute of silence. I guess being a goddess is more complicated than I thought, although I have never thought about being a goddess before.

"Okay. So why should we trust you if you aren't fully in your right mind?" Makoto shot a sharp glare at Athena.

"How about this, I helped save your life you ungrateful-"

"So!" I interrupted. "There seem to be some anger here. Everyone just calm down."

"Sorry." Makoto let out a sigh and leaned back in the seat. "I'm really tired and a bit annoyed. Thank you, both of you."

"Fine. Now then, you two came here for a reason. You want some answers. I checked with an ally of mine on what I can tell you and what I can't. So, ask away."

"What happened last night?" Makoto asked.

"Jumping straight there. It might be a bit confusing without some background information, but sure." She ate another mouthful of ramen before speaking again. "I guess I'll just throw that in as I speak. You wandered into another world, though I don't know exactly how. Taro here has done the same before."

Makoto looked over to me. "You have, Yamada?"

"Two times counting last night." I resisted the urge to say 'and hopefully never again.''

"Three times, actually," Athena corrected. "Don't forget when you first got your persona." I guess she has a point, I guess that probably was in the other world. "Anyways, back to the story. After you went to the other world, your psyche created a replica of the library from town. There, your negative emotions, self-doubt, and other dark parts of your mind came out and took a form similar to your own."

"So that's what that thing was? My negativity?"

"Yes. Isn't that what I just said it was? Now stop interrupting me. Luckily for you, Taro was in the other world and found your library. With a little help from me, he got up to the second floor where you and your shadow self were. About the same time he showed up, your shadow self started doing what all of its kind do: try to mentally break the original. It brought up anything it could think of that would cause you distress until you denied it.

"Once you did so, it took on a form of its own. When a shadow self takes on its own form, its first desire is always to kill the original person. A shadow awakening also takes a lot of energy from the person. Which means that anyone who confronts their shadow alone and isn't very powerful tends to be killed. You are not strong, but you did have an alley that could beat the shadow for you."

Makoto quietly thanked me again.

"You at least had the good sense to accept your shadow the second time," Athena continued. "When you did, you started on the road to accepting your faults. This awoke the power of your persona." Makoto opened his mouth to speak, but Athena stopped him. "A persona is the opposite of a shadow. It is a representation of your hopes, dreams, self-confidence, and other positive things like that. Yours was a djinn. While in the other world, you can summon your persona to fight."

Athena spent a few minutes explaining fights and some more in-depth things about persona to Makoto. None of it was really new to me.

"And so, oh." Athena stopped talking and I went back to focusing on the two. Makoto had fallen asleep again.

"He has been doing that all day," I explained. "His shadow probably took a lot out of him like you said and he has been pushing himself to stay awake."

"Okay. Here, I'll watch him and take him home when I'm done. I know you saw the door to the velvet room next door. Go check it out, Philemon asked me to tell you to go talk to Igor."

"Thanks," I started to get up when everything slowed to a pause. The area darkened except for Athena.

I felt a voice speaking in my head. It was a deep voice that sounded unfamiliar. "Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond… It brings thee closer to thy goal… Thou shalt be blessed while creating Personas of the Justice Arcana…"

Everything went back to normal as quickly as it changed. What the hell just happened?

"Why did you just stop?" Athena asked, breaking my attention.

"I am not sure. Something weird just happened, I will ask Igor about that." I finished standing up and left the restaurant. The other door was still there, glowing slightly. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key Victor had given me last time I visited the Velvet Room. I do not even remember grabbing the key, but it is far from the weirdest part of the day.

The key had the same blue glow as the door. I inserted it into the door and unlocked it. Then I stepped in. The Velvet Room was still the train car. I could see space go by outside the windows. Igor sat at the table in the center. Victor stood next to him, looking at the book he carried around.

"Greetings, dear guest," Igor said with a small flourish. "Please, close the door and take a seat." I did as instructed. "It seems you have started making use of our services."

"I saw the door and decided to come in," I explained.

"Not that," Victor spoke up. "You created a social link. A representation of the bond between yourself and another. It appears you have formed the Justice Social Link with Athena."

"The power of social links, the bonds between people," Igor took over the explanation. "The wild card derives their power from their bonds. As you grow closer to others and form new social links, your abilities will grow stronger."

"So I get stronger by making friends?" The idea was a bit ridiculous, I had to question it.

"Not just making friends, but making bonds," Igor replied. "You must have an emotional connection to the social link, it may appear even with individuals you do not count as friends but that you share a connection with. As they grow deeper, the bond deepens and your powers grow stronger."

"What is stopping me from just making bonds and forcing them forward so I can grow stronger faster?"

"You can not strengthen a bond you do not care about. If you have no attachment past wanting strength, then your bonds will all fall apart." Igor let out a small chuckle as he finished talking. I fail to see what is funny. "I see you have been a bit busy lately. You have rescued a young man from the forest and awoke his persona. He will serve as a powerful ally to achieve your goal."

"Achieve my goal? Would you please tell me what my goal is?"

Igor held up a finger and a blue butterfly landed on it. "You must form your goal yourself. If I were to tell you your goal, then you would not be driven towards it." He extended his whole arm and the butterfly flew off. It fluttered around the room before landing on the table in front of me. "Now then, you had some questions, did you not?"

"Yes, I did. First, what is that butterfly?"

Igor let out another chuckle. "That is an avatar of Philemon, my master. He uses it to watch those granted the ability of persona."

"Oh." I put my hand out near the butterfly and it flitted onto my finger. "Thanks for the Chinese pamphlet, that was a lot of help. And thanks for sending Athena, or employing her or whatever." The butterfly actually seemed to nod. Does Philemon not understand sarcasm? I mean, he is human goodness if what Athena told me yesterday is right, maybe that does not include sarcasm.

"He says you're a smartass," Victor added. Damn, guess I was wrong there. "But he can tell that you like Athena more than you are letting on, so no hard feelings."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I shot back.

"Victor, stop lying to and mocking the guest," Igor chided. "Sorry, dear guest. My assistant can be a bit rude at times. Now apologize."

Victor looked like a child whose mother caught him mocking another child on the playground. "I apologize, dear guest."

"Apology accepted. So is it possible for me to talk to Philemon?"

"Unfortunately, Lord Philemon is sworn to neutrality," Igor said. "He could awaken your persona, open the Velvet Room for your use, and inform Lady Athena of your presence, but nothing direct. If he were to answer your questions, it would be breaking his neutrality."

"So he can set me up for this, but he can not answer simple questions? That is just wonderful. Can you two tell me anything?"

"Ah, yes, I have something I can tell you," Igor said. "I am able to shed a little light on this other world. It's true name would make little sense to you, but it can be translated roughly as 'Land of the Elders'. It is an area where older deities and demons can have a small area to rule. That forest is the domain of the ancient god of the hunt Cernunnos."

"That is really nice to know, Igor. Thank you for the knowledge." Finally, something is cleared up. I know where I am going and what enemy I will fight there.

"Thank you for the knowledge?" Victor looked at me odd. "I don't think I've met someone with a speech pattern as odd as your in decades. You almost remind me of my older siblings."

Odd speech pattern? I do not have a clue what he means. "You have siblings? What are you, anyways? Are you a human, or shadow, god, what?"

"I am merely a resident of the Velvet Room, a being that governs power. I have three older siblings, two sisters and a brother. Although, unlike most residents, I have a large amount of contact with humans."

"Both a blessing and a curse," Igor said. "Most of my assistants have a great liking for humanity, but little experience. Victor has enough experience for all residents, but it can make him seem alien to the others when he shows his experience. But I am certain my assistant would not appreciate us talking about him, so let us move on. Anything else you desire?"

"Anything you can still tell me?" I have some questions, but I can not be sure Philemon would even let them tell me.

"I can read the cards for you again," Igor answered. "Or maybe explain your Persona ability a bit more. Or I can repeat anything I have already informed you of. Unfortunately, I do not have any more news for you."

"Thank you, but I do not think I have business left here. Thank you and goodbye Igor."

"Good evening, dear guest. Return any time you need assistance."

"See ya later, man," Victor added roughly.

"See you." I went to the door and opened it. When I left the room, the door closed behind me.

"Had a good time?"

"Hello, Athena." The goddess was waiting for me. Makoto was nowhere to be seen. "Did you get Honda home safely?"

"Yes, I did," she beamed. "His grandmother is such a nice lady. She gave me a cookie. How was Igor? Is his nose still big?"

"Truthfully, it reminded me of a bird's beak. A rather long bird's beak. I feel like it could have gone better, but I got some answers. Do you know the next time we are going to the other world?"

"Nope. Why am I even the strategist here?" I let her question hang since the answer was rather obvious. "Oh, yeah. But I already told you, I'm a bit out of it. You awakened your Persona with no problem and saved Makoto, maybe you should be the leader."

"Me, a leader? You are crazy." A small beep drew my attention to my phone. It had somehow already been two hours since school got out. "I should be going. Meet me here again Sunday around noon so we can finish talking about this."

"Okay, Taro. See you later." Athena returned to the restaurant and I took to my bike. As I left, I could feel my knowledge greatly increase from everything I had learned.


End file.
